CHICO — With California redevelopment agencies continuing to face the threat of elimination, the Chico City Council has now committed more than $17 million to low-income housing.

On the heels of a special meeting held Friday evening, the council — acting as the Chico Redevelopment Agency — decided at a special meeting Monday night to provide an $8.8 million loan for a 90-unit low-income apartment complex slated for a five-acre parcel on East Avenue near The Esplanade.

The project is to be developed by Clovis-based Affordable Housing Development Corp., which recently completed construction on Parkside Terrace, a low-income housing complex on Hartford Drive.

The city Finance Committee recommended the City Council allocate city funding to the East Avenue project at its Feb. 23 meeting by a 2-1 vote and the matter was expected to come before the council March 15.?

But with a budget committee of the Legislature voting late last week to abolish redevelopment agencies, city staff decided to speed up the approval process of the project. A special meeting was held Friday night, where approximately $8.4 million was allocated to three separate low-income housing projects.

The East Avenue project was scheduled to be heard Friday as well, but city staff decided to delay any formal action until Monday, after discovering a noticing error on the meeting’s agenda.

Monday, the council voted 5-2 to approve funding for the project, after hearing from city staff and holding a public hearing on the matter.

James Coles, city housing manager, told the council that although the proposed project is not within one of the city’s redevelopment project areas, the city is allowed by law to fund the project if it offers a benefit to those areas. Coles said the project will help fill the city’s critical need for affordable housing, saying there is a lack of housing for low- and moderate-income families in Butte County.

None of the four members of the public who addressed the council argued that point, but Chico resident Stephanie Taber said she took issue with the council spending taxpayer dollars with “no regard to long-term consequences.”

Taber said the city’s spending of redevelopment funds could result in future draconian cuts by the governor, which she said will hurt the city of Chico more.

She admonished the council for committing funding to the project.

“You’ve just snatched these funds away from the state and pontificated ‘If we don’t someone else will.’ Wow. What an example to set,” Taber said with sarcasm.

Additionally, Councilor Mark Sorensen said he did not believe the project warranted redevelopment funding, arguing the project was out of the scope of the redevelopment agency.

“This is not redevelopment,” Sorensen said. “It’s not a blighted area, it’s not in the RDA area.”

But the majority of the council ultimately disagreed with Sorensen and Councilor Bob Evans, who also voted against the project.

Councilor Andy Holcombe said the project will present an opportunity for the city to serve its residents who are in need of housing.

Responding to Taber’s comments, Holcombe said the $8.8 million loan is a valuable use of redevelopment funding and said the city of Chico should be spending the money on a need that is significant for a large population of Chico’s residents.

“If this means grabbing RDA funds, I’ll be ready to grab every time. These are our funds. These are local funds. These are city funds that benefit our entire community,” Holcombe said.

BACKGROUND: In his January budget proposal, Gov. Jerry Brown recommended the state disestablish redevelopment agencies in an effort to close a projected $25.4 billion state deficit. Redevelopment agencies statewide receive funding that is intended to help improve blighted areas and build low income housing. The city of Chico receives about $31 million annually for redevelopment projects.

What’s New: Late last week, a state budget committee approved the elimination of redevelopment agencies. Fearful that a full Legislature vote to abolish redevelopment agencies is imminent, the Chico City Council, acting as the Chico Redevelopment Agency, approved approximately $8.4 million in redevelopment funding for three separate low income housing projects at a special meeting last Friday. At another special meeting Monday night, the council approved $8.8 million for a low income housing project on East Avenue.

What’s Next: The city of Chico, like the rest of the redevelopment agencies across the state, will wait to see what the Legislature decides on redevelopment agencies. City officials say there are rumors that a compromise is likely, though until those details emerge, the future of redevelopment agencies still hangs in the balance.